Appropriate water management practices are essential for the successful cultivation of chia in water-scarce situations of semiarid regions. This is highly essential when new crops such as chia are introduced for ensuring diversity and water saving. Therefore, field trials (2020–21 and 2021–22) were conducted to understand the impact of deficit irrigation and bioregulators (BRs) on the seed yield, water productivity, and oil quality of chia. The effect of foliar application of BRs such as thiourea (TU; 400 ppm), salicylic acid (SA; 1.0 mM), potassium nitrate (KN; 0.15%), potassium silicate (KS; 100 ppm), kaolin (KO; 5%), and sodium benzoate (SB; 200 ppm) were monitored at different levels of irrigation: 100 (I₁₀₀), 75 (I₇₅), 50 (I₅₀), and 25 (I₂₅) percent of cumulative pan evaporation (CPE). Deficit irrigation at I₂₅, I₅₀, and I₇₅ led to 55.3, 20.1, and 3.3% reductions in seed yield; 42.5, 22.5, and 4.2% in oil yield; and 58.9, 24.5, and 5.7% in omega–3 yield, respectively, relative to I₁₀₀. Bioregulators could reduce the adverse impact of water deficit stress on seed, oil, and omega–3 yield. However, their beneficial effect was more conspicuous under mild water stress (I₇₅), as revealed by higher seed yield (4.3–6.9%), oil yield (4.4–7.1%), and omega–3 yield (4.7–8.5%) over control (I₁₀₀ + no BRs). Further, BRs (KN, TU, and SA) maintained oil quality in terms of linolenic acid and polyunsaturated fatty acid contents, even under mild stress (I₇₅). Foliar application of KN, TU, and SA could save water to an extent of 36–40%. Therefore, the adverse impact of deficit irrigation on seed, oil, and omega–3 yields of chia could be minimized using BRs such as KN, TU, and SA, which can also contribute to improved water productivity.

Intercropping offers greater scope to introduce new crops. Cultivation of crops with diverse root architecture and different durations enhances the productivity of scarce resources like land and water. This study aimed to determine the effect of intercrop competition and irrigation regimes on yield, competition, land usage, irrigation water use efficiency (IWUE), and fatty acids of chia. The field experiment was conducted in semi-arid India during 2020–2022 with full (I₁₀₀) and deficit irrigation (I₅₀) and six intercrops. Results demonstrated that chia + fenugreek intercropping in I₅₀ improved the crops’ competitiveness, land equivalent ratio (LER) (1.77), land use efficiency (142.5%), and the IWUE of chia (23.2%). Notably, a chia + radish/spinach system in I₅₀ reduced the seed yield (42.6–45.0%) of chia over I₁₀₀ monocropping. A chia + fenugreek system in I₅₀ resulted in a higher seed yield (196.2 kg ha⁻¹) than chia monocropping in I₁₀₀. Further, chia + fenugreek intercropping resulted in higher omega-3 content (56.68%) under I₁₀₀. Therefore, a chia + fenugreek system under I₁₀₀ may be suggested over monocropping for better yield and oil quality. However, during water scarcity situations, growers can adopt a chia + fenugreek system under I₅₀ which can give a similar chia equivalent yield and a higher LER and IWUE compared to chia monocropping under I₁₀₀.

The abiotic stresses, such as drought, waterlogging, heat, cold, and salinity, cause significant crop yield losses associated with extremes of moisture and temperature and ion imbalance. The occurrence of these conditions is being aggravated by climate change, global warming, and industrial pollution. It is crucial to safeguard food security through a constant and sustainable crop production system under multiple abiotic stresses. The cultivation of climate-resilient varieties is one of the best strategies being followed across diverse agroecosystems in the world including India to mitigate the impact of abiotic stress on crop production. Indian agricultural institutional network under the umbrella of the National Agriculture Research System developed a good number of abiotic stress-tolerant varieties across the field and horticultural crops. However, only a few crops varieties introgression with SUB1 gene and salinity tolerant QTLs are being cultivated largely in the areas prone to submergence and salinity stress, respectively. In this book chapter, we have updated the status of abiotic stress tolerance crop varieties (ASTCVs) along with stress-wise trend analysis to disseminate information among farmers, students, scientists, and policymakers involved in abiotic stress management. Finally, we also discussed the strategies to reorient the breeding program to develop climate-smart varieties with multiple biotic and abiotic stress tolerance.

Background: Climate influenced weather events, especially during the flowering, grain filling, and maturity stages, can adversely influence crop yield and quality. Therefore, understanding how the phenological behaviour and yield potential of new crops such as chia are influenced by weather and sowing dates is crucial for maximizing crop yield. This study aimed to assess the impact of sowing dates on the flowering behaviour, and yield attributes of chia morphotypes, as well as to identify optimal weather conditions for achieving higher yields. Methods: The study was conducted during 2021–22 and 2022–23 and consisted of fifteen sowing windows from 1st July to 1st February (at 15 days intervals), with two chia morphotypes (white and black seed) arranged in a replicated split-plot design. Phenological events, flowering characters and seed yield traits were recorded regularly. Weather parameters at the experimental location (Maharashtra, India) were recorded. Results: The results revealed that weather conditions such as relative humidity (RH) and rainfall favoured the flowering phenology, yield attributes, and seed yield of chia, whereas maximum temperature (T_max), bright sunshine hours, and accumulated growing degree days had negative effects. Weather parameters significantly influenced the chia seed yield during the cropping period: RH (positive, R² = 86.1%), T_max (negative, R² = 67.4%), rainfall (positive, R² = 52.9%), and diurnal temperature range (negative, R² = 74.9%). Black-seeded chia morphotypes consistently produced higher seed yields (10.8% greater) and better yield-contributing traits compared to white types across various sowing dates. The maximum chia seed yield (811–793.1 kg ha⁻¹) was achieved with sowing dates between August 1st and September 1st in this semi-arid region of India. The performance of chia was good under congenial weather conditions, including relative humidity (∼67–72%), maximum temperature (∼30–31 °C), day length (<12.0 h), rainfall (∼200–350 mm), and accumulated growing degree days (∼1,521–1,891). The present study findings can help identify the best suitable regions for chia cultivation by revealing relationships between the performance of chia morphotypes and weather conditions.